ROOFTOP HOUSE II (1986)

A House at a corner behind a wall on a roof in a city

THE PLAN...

• A programmatically dense and complex 2600 s.f. top-floor renovation for a young couple in Manhattan's Chelsea district.

It consists of four different functional zones including a new “pent-house” studio (designed as a terminus).

• Each zone is particularized (yet linked to others) by the use and detailing of four materials manipulated within

an off-white plaster/stucco envelope. The materials though constantly reiterated are encoded by the detailing

(within, on, over, under, adjacent to, etc. one another) to specify notions of formality/informality; public/private;

dark/light but, perhaps, most importantly: here/there.



• The roof top structure itself is an object in the roofscape. Its primary role is to provide for a contemplative, enclosing

and private retreat for the owner's writing room. An additional function was to provide a south-facing sun room and

private access to the roof (half of which the owners controlled, the other half of which was available to the building at large).



MATERIALS...
• Wood: mahogany and maple
• Metal: aluminum and brass
• Stone: honed black slate and composite tiles
• Glass: pigmented, wire, and block